Amid Maha CM’s appeal for unopposed contest, NCP announces candidate for Assembly bypoll in Pune

PTI, Feb 7, 2023, 1:05 PM IST

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday said Nana Kate will be its candidate for the upcoming bypoll to Chinchwad Assembly seat in Pune district.

The announcement comes days after Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said he had requested NCP president Sharad Pawar and leaders of the Congress (both constituents of Maha Vikas Aghadi along with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena) to honour the political tradition in the state to ensure unopposed bypolls to seats falling vacant due to the death of sitting lawmakers. The byelections to Pune’s Chinchwad and Kasba Peth constituencies, scheduled for February 26, have been necessitated due to the death of sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs Laxman Jagtap and Mukta Tilak. Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil in a tweet on Tuesday said, ””NCP’s Nana Kate will be the Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate for the Chinchwad constituency bypoll. We are confident that we will definitely win this election by working together with all constituents of the MVA.” On Monday, BJP’s Ashwini Jagtap, the wife of late MLA Laxman Jagtap, filed her nomination for the bypoll to Chinchwad Assembly seat, which represents the Pimpri Chinchwad township in Pune district.

Besides, BJP’s Hemant Rasne and Congress leader Ravindra Dhangekar have filed their nomination papers for the byelection to Kasba Peth Assembly seat.

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Monday said if the Congress assures that the Kasba Peth Assembly bypoll will be unopposed in the event of BJP nominating a member of late MLA Mukta Tilak’s family, then the saffron party will make its official candidate withdraw from the fray.

Eyebrows were raised over BJP giving a ticket to local leader Rasne, even as Mukta Tilak’s husband said his family members would have completed her work if given a ticket.

Tuesday is the last day for filing the nominations. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is February 10. Votes will be counted on March 2.